Daylesford Hotel: a grand country pub

On the first night of our recent stay in Daylesford, we were tired and wanted something easy for dinner.  So we walked 5 minutes to the Daylesford Hotel, arriving rather early for dinner at 4.45pm.   We really enjoyed the amazing pizzas in the cosy crowded public bar with moss green walls and large arched leadlight windows.

When Sylvia first checked their menu online she did not feel it had lots of vegetarian options for us. Then she saw the pizza menu and had it listed as a place to eat.  As we walked there, we passed the drive through takeaway pizza option and were able to watch some of the pizzas being made in the window.

The top photo will show you how busy the bar was.  When we arrived it was heaving and we were told that if we waited by the bar we would get a table within 20 minutes.  Fortunately someone left and we got a table opposite the lovely fireplace immediately.  Although these seats are empty, I had to be quick to take this photo after the people there left and before they were quickly replaced.

Next to the fireplace was a little cosy nook of a room that looked like the place to be but of course we did not get our choice of seats.  I liked that our seat looked over towards the gorgeous leadlight window and the large archway where we ordered at the counter.
 

This fireplace is behind the bar with a list of wines.  I didn't have to wait long to order our drinks and meals at the counter, despite lots of people standing about with their drinks.  They were probably waiting for tables.

I was happy that they had an excellet range of alcohol free drinks.  There was a page and half of mocktails, soft drinks and non alcoholic beers and wines.  I had a glass of the Non 3 - Cinnamon & Yuzu white wine ($11).  It is great to see drinks menus now featuring non-alcoholic wines that have depths of flavour rather than just a sweet grape juice.  I would love to have this slightly citrussy dry white wine again.

The design of the bar was really lovely with a subtle mix of heritage and modern touches.  This barrell with a warmly glowing lamp was an example of this, as is the modern menu that still reflects old school pub menus.

We got tempted by a few dishes on the main menu such as the vegetable sausage roll and the eggplant parmagiana, But we just ordered a pizza each.  Mine was the Potato pizza with provolone, Talleggio, rosemary salt and truffle oil ($27).  It was really good with the intense cheese and flavours working well with the potato.  The crust was beautifully charred and puffed and tasted so light and tasty.  It was one of the best pizzas I have had in ages.

Sylvia ordered the Pear pizza with Brie, rocket and balsamic.  It was a bit sweet for her but I loved it with  the balance of the cheese and pear worked really well with the pile of dressed peppery rocket to cut through the sweet rich toppings.  We ended up preferring each others pizzas, which worked just fine.  They were very large and we ended up taking quite a few pieces home in a pizza box.

We were so full by the time we finished and didn't want to take up seats for too long with the high demand so we headed out as it was getting dark.  We took a last look at the leadlight window brom the other side and peeked in the windows at the bistro which was more formal but had the same elegant design without the colour.  The hotel also offers accommodation which looks lovely.

The next day when we walked to the main street I took a photo of the pub from across the road.  It is so large and impressive with two stories of cast iron verandahs from the late nineteenth or early twentieth century (there was not much about the history online).  The huge expanse of this grand old pub made it hard to fit it in the photo.  And Daylesford was so busy that I could not get a picture without people walking by.  It was a fantastic choice for our first meal of the holiday.  We left feeling happy with our bellies full, having enjoyed great hospitality from a fine country pub with great service and great food.

Daylesford Hotel 
2 Burke Square, Daylesford
[by roundabout at intersection of Vincent St, Albert St and Midland Hwy]
https://daylesfordhotel.com.au/

More posts on our Daylesford holiday (more to come):

• Daylesford Accommodation 

Daylesford Accommodation

At the beginning of October, Sylvia and I spent a few nights in Daylesford, a ninety minute drive north west of Melbourne.  We arrived on a wet afternoon and were pleasantly surprised at the trees in blossom on the driveway leading to our holiday villa in Camp Street.  It was nicely situated between the main shopping strip and the Convent Gallery so we were able to walk to a lot of places.

 

Inside we were greeted by a small but pleasingly decorated open plan dining-kitchen-lounge.  It felt cosy with the gas fire warming the area and lots of light from the shuttered windows.  This is where we spent most of our evenings relaxing.

We didn't use the dining table much despite our good intentions but it was an elegant entrance space to welcome us in the front door.

Up a narrow flight of stairs were the two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms.  Sylvia was very pleased at the fan above the bed and the tv, neither of which she has at her bedroom at home.  I loved the green theme of my bedroom and the view of Daylesford from the window.

My ensuite had a large shower but Sylvia's was fancier with a shower and a spa bath.  She had a lovely bath one night while I relaxed in the lounge.  

I managed to see a couple films in the evenings: Bridget Jones Diary - Mad about the Boy (a very undemanding rom com) and All the President's Men (a very intense political thriller based on the journalists uncovering the Watergate scandal).. 

The house had lots of large mirrors, cushions and [artificial] plants with the occasional wooden giraffe.  Sylvia bought her penguin along to sit in her bedroom.  I would have liked more pictures on the wall and some bookshelves.  Browsing other people's bookshelves has always been a joy of staying in a holiday house.

We were very pleased to be staying close to Blakes Family Grocers.  Daylesford is more hipster these days than the hippy town it was when friends moved there after we finished university.  Blakes is a "gourmet super store" that looks like a supermarket stocked by stallholders from a farmers market.

I was delighted to be able to buy Irrewarra Sourdough bread.  It is the best.  Sylvia made sandwiches with the truffle brie, pesto and tomatoes for dinner.  I bought some curried cauliflower salad to have with my sandwich.  Irrewarra also make delicious chocolate covered oat biscuits. 

Here is a sweet platter we made with the chocolate oat biscuits, mango coconut white chocolate and lemon slice that Sylvia made at home and brought along.

Another evening I had a slice of amazing vegan tofu mushroom tart which I had bought at Harvest Cafe during the day.  It was great with beetroot feta salad.  Sylvia had truffle macaroni and cheese from Blakes.

I will write more about out time in Daylesford soon.

My Monthly Chronicles: September 2025

 

As Spring began to warm up, September was a busy month for us with visits to the farmers market, cafes, nights out, and exhibitions.  Above is a wonderfully green matcha chiffon cake and a rhubarb monte carlo biscuit at Tylers Milkbar, Preston.

To read more about the month, check out In My Kitchen: September 2025, especially what I bought at visits to the farmers market.
 

Gopals, Melbourne CBD

It is so long since I have been at Gopals (139 Swanston Street, Melbourne).  It was nice to see this cheap Hari Krishna cafeteria was still fairly similar to when I had written up a blog post on Gopals in 2008.  Even the menu was fairly similar.  I had a small plate of a spinach dairy and cheese pie with two salads - beetroot and chickpea - with tahini sauce ($9.50).  It was not quite as cheap as it had been but still cheap in this day and age.

Old Treasury Building, Melbourne CBD

It is also a while since I have been to the museum at the Old Treasury Building (20 Spring Street).  I was inspired recently by hearing a talk by the Margaret Anderson about the exhibitions here  .I enjoyed the exhibition on Belongings: Objects and Family Life just before it closed.  It was small but made me feel nostalgic for tv and toys from my childhood.  I also enjoyed some of the retro posters of Melbourne and the protest exhibitions.

Mr Miller, Preston - What the Falafel

We had lunch at Mr Miller (14 Miller Street).  I had the "What the Falafel" plate: tzatziki, hummus, roasted tomato tabbouleh, falafel, pickled red onion and sumac spiced crispy pita.  It was really nice.  The crispy pita were an interesting alternative but I still would have preferred bread to mop up the dip.

Mr Miller, Preston - Don't pancake around

Sylvia could not resist a sweet brunch dish called "Don't pancake around": fresh pancakes ice cream seasonal berries, berry sauce, chocolate sauce and fairy floss. I loved the tartan criss cross of the berry sauce and chocolate sauce.  It looked fun and tasted excellent with a mouthful of pancake.  We also had starters of cute little tomato and mushroom arancini.

Coburg Farmers Market 1

We had a fathers day visit with Sylvia's dad to the Coburg Farmers Market (92 Bell St - entry via Urqhuart Street).  I had an excellent cheese scone.  They just don't make cheese scones at enough places in Melbourne.  Sylvia is very pleased to has discovered the Titilas Matcha.  She had blueberry matcha and was very pleased with it.  I love my silver gum nut bouquet from the native flowers stall.

Fathers Day in Geelong

We had a fine Fathers day afternoon tea in Geelong.  As usual there was a great spread of food - spinach and cheese rolls, quiche, profitteroles, my coconut ice, scones with jam and cream, and a a magnificent jaffa cake that my mum made with gluten free flour and drizzled with chocolate.  It was great to catch up with my siblings who I haven't seen for a while.

Coburg Farmers Market 2

We have spent more time at the Farmers Market this month than we have for quite a while.  It has been ages since we had momos and made us reflect on how things have changed.  We used to have them regularly at the market years ago and it was great to have them again.  When Sylvia was younger she would eat the dumpling skins and I would eat the filling.  On this visit neither of us left any of our momos behind!  Sylvia also discovered a new matcha flavour at Titilas - earl grey - and loved it.  I had a fresh orange juice with some blood orange juice that they called a Sunrise OJ.

Pepes Italian and Liquor and The Lark play, Melbourne CBD 

I have written about our amazing meal at Pepe's Italian & Liquor (275-285 Exhibition Street) with the best ever focaccia, great salads, great pistachio bombolini and fun ski chalet vibes.  This photo is of the front of the menu which you can see has Pepes written in the tracks made by the skiers on the snowy mountain slope.  

After our dinner, we went to the Arts Centre to see the wonderful Noni Hazelhurst in the wistful one woman play called The Lark where she plays a pub landlady in Fitzroy reflecting on her life behind the bar.  

Biang Biang, Melbourne CBD - noodle theatre

We were in Melbourne for a workshop and stopped for a quick dinner at Biang Biang (255 Swanston Street).  We sat on the mezzanine with a great view down of people coming and going as well as the noodle making with the dough pulled thin across the staff members outstretched hands to make the long noodles.  It was good to see that they were freshly made. 

Biang Biang, Melbourne CBD - noodles

We were very pleased with our bowls of biang biang noodles.  Sylvia had hers with chilli and I had ine with eggplant and tomato. Biang biang noodles with eggplant and tomato.  Both had Asian greens on the side.  I am glad the meal was good because when arrived for our workshop, we found we had the wrong day.

Ice Ko-ii Gelato, Melbourne CBD

After finding out we had the wrong day I was not happy.  I had taken leave on the day we had planned and had another commitment on the correct date.  We headed back to the tram stop.  As we waited we were tempted by the Ice Ko-ii Gelato (20 Elizabeth Street).  I loved the dark chocolate ice cream.  Sylvia was a bit more adventurous with matcha mochi with sweet cream cheese dip which she enjoyed.  The place was serious about their matcha.  They had 4 different matcha ice creams!

65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art, Ian Potter Museum of Art, Parkville

The Ian Potter Museum of Art, on the University of Melbourne's Parkville campus at the corner of Swanston Street and Masson Road, has been closed for some years for renovation and expansion.  It was a pleasure see it open again and walk through the exhibition of "65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art".  The exhibition has amazing Indigenous artwork arranged in a way that made me aware and proud of the breadth of First Nations culture and the huge impact of colonisation.  I only got through 2 floors and hope to get back to see the rest of it. 

Hofbrauhaus and Enchanted Miniature Bookshelf workshop, Melbourne CBD

After going to our Enchanted Miniature Bookshelf workshop on the wrong day, we returned to the city a couple of days later and had dinner again but this time at Hofbrauhaus (18-20 Market Lane) for some German food.  Sylvia was excited to have Käsespätzle: German egg noodles with Alpine cheese, tomatoes, spinach and caramelised onions.  I had the Blumenkohl: freshly crumbed cauliflower schnitzel, fries, slaw, vegan herb mayo.  And we shared the Gebackene pilze: crumbed mushrooms with Bavarian mayo.  Sylvia was a big fan but I was less so, though I really liked the Apfel Schorle (apple spritzer).

Then we headed off to the workshop which was amazing.  So much fun and so inspiring.  You can read more about it in my post on Making a magical miniature bookshelf. 

Coburg Farmers Market 3

On our third visit to the farmers market in the month - yes we were frequent visitors - we had a a cheese melt from the Pacelli Deli.  They describe the food truck as "the hanging cheese man".    The feature is two balls of cheese hanging above a grill so it melts straight onto the bread.  Our Wandi Walnuts melt with melted Caciocavallo cheese with honey and walnuts on Pane di Casa bread was excellent.  The honey tamed the intense cheese and the walnuts added texture.
 

In the News

Australia recognised Gaza at the UN.  Neo Nazi key speaker at anti-immigration march in Melbourne was widely condemned.  The Victorian Government introduced a bill in Parliament  treaty with Victorian First Nations people at last. Right wing activist Charlie Kirk was killed in Utah USA followed by Jimmy Kimmel being sacked for his reaction and then reinstated days later.  Trump and Netanyahu concocted a peace plan for Palestine without consulting any Palestinians.  Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonara convicted of a coup.  Australia's Anti-islamaphobia Envoy gives his report.

As fascism rears its ugly head, we are trapped between the craven and the unwilling, by Amy Remeikis, New Daily, 6 September 2025. 

Australia will soon have its own ‘centre for disease control’. Let’s not repeat the chaos of the US, by Allen Cheng, The Conversation, 8 September 2025.

Trump accuses ABC journalist of ‘hurting Australia’ and says he’ll report him to Albanese, by Michelle Grattan, The Conversation, 17 September 2025. 

Robert Redford, screen idol turned director and activist, dies at 89, Reuters, 18 September 2025.

Starmer’s collapse and the rebirth of a movement, by Stewart Sweeney, Pearls and Irritations, 18 September 2025.

Jon Stewart's Post-Kimmel Primer on Free Speech in the Glorious Trump Era on The Daily Show, Youtube, 20 September 2025.

'America is not happy': [Australia's] ABC under fire for [America's ABC] pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the ABC News [Australia], 20 September 2025.

‘A cottage of one’s own’: Newly unearthed Virginia Woolf stories to be published, in the Guardian, 24 September 2025.

Trumps peace plan shows Netanyahu has outmanoeuvered yet another American president, by John Lyons, ABC News, 30 September, 2025.

Watching on the small screen 

We watched a few films from the my younger days that were nostalgic for me and also enjoyed by Sylvia: Dead Poets Society, Welcome to the Dollhouse and Garden State.  We also had lots of fun watching Ted Danson as a spy undercover in a nursing home on Man on the Inside.  Then there were a few shows that gave me much to think about: Hostage (the UK political thriller series with Suranne Jones), Unknown Number: the High School Catfish documentary film, and the tv series,  Maid, which gives a great insight into how domestic violence can affect a woman's life.

In My Kitchen: September 2025

September has been a fun month in the kitchen with a new airfryer, spring farmers market produce, fathers day, crafts, and a pate platter for the AFL Grand Final.   We have been eating lots of soups and favourite winter recipes but as the weather warms up, we are heading back into salad and fritters territory.  Work has been quieter with my manager on leave and a couple of days of annual leave for me to support Sylvia with her online schooling.  

Above is a photo of produce from the Coburg Farmers Market.  Green veg, good bread and some treats are pretty reflective of a lot of food in our kitchen.  I love how the leek from the farmers market is all wild and curly unlike the straight sticks of leek from the supermarket.  

Here is more from the farmers market.  I was pleased to remember to take a bottle to reuse for buying Good Brew kombucha.  The onions are so tiny that they are almost as small as the brussels sprouts.  Sylvia was excited to find the pressed chevre in olive oil from the Dreaming goat dairy.  She had tasted it months ago at the market and it has taken quite some time to see it again.  It is not cheap but is excellent.  We loved it in a sandwich.  We also bought Take Me Home's fresh gnocchi, which we usually fry rather than boiling, as per instructions.  This packet went into a batch of our favourite Creamy vegan gnocchi soup with sausage and kale.  It was good though not quite as good as the shelf stable gnocchi.  Next time we are back to frying this gnocchi.

We have had a lot of food bakes from the farmers market.  This is what we bought last weekend for grand final snacking.  My photo does not do justice to the beauty of the vegan Better Now Bakes stall.  Sylvia loves the chilli and potato focaccia.  While we were watching the Grand Final we started with a mushroom pate platter and then moved onto a tahini date scroll for me and a slice of the banoffee tart with a coconut cream meringue for Sylvia.  Good stuff.  And I also bought a Flinders Sourdough black pearl bun with chunks of chocolate.  They are the best!

I went to Geelong for afternoon tea with my parents and siblings on Fathers Day.  I made a collage Fathers Day card for the occasion.  I started it a few days before and had lots of ideas but could not make them fit together.  The next day it all came together when I had another go.  The card had plenty of images relating to my dad's life: travel, religion, gardening, corn flakes, music, photos and books.  You might even spot a ball and a hammer to symbolise sport and his tools.

I took a tub of coconut ice to Geelong.  It is always popular.  I cut it into small squares because it is so sweet.  We all had plenty and there was still some leftover for my dad and some for Sylvia to give her dad.  I was pleased with my photos and that it was better with reducing the icing sugar from 340g to 270g,  I have updated these in my coconut ice post.

I went home from my parents with a few treats such as the amazing chocolate orange cake my mum made (with gluten free flour), a loaf of fantastic seeded sourdough from  my sister and also from Fran was some boxes of sweet and salty microwave popcorn.  It was cleverly designed so you pulled a tab to made a box from a thin package and just pop that in the microwave.  It said 2-3 minutes and I went more rather than less.  It was a mistake and we had too many burnt ones.  Next time it will be 2 min!  But the good popcoen was quite nice.

This photo shows why I should not go to the supermarket after work when I am hungry.  I had promised Sylvia I would buy her milk and cereal on the way home but then got tempted by less essential food.  That Zooper Dooper Fairy Floss Twisties had to be tasted.  Surprisingly they were not bad.  Despite lots of artificial flavours they worked.  Once was enough though.  I also tried the cracker versions of Smith Cheese chips which were just like cheese crackers.  No surprise there!  And I needed chocolate so I bought a favourite chokito bar.

A happier supermarket outcome was on a trip when I unexpectedly had a message that I had won win $15.  I still don't know how, even after asking a salesperson.  You don't question good luck.  Aroud the same time I found I had won it, I noticed a display of Lindt Dubai Chocolate for a ridiculous $20 a block.  Usually I would find that too expensive to justify, but when I deducted the $15 I had won, it was quite reasonable.  It was excellent with a pleasing thin creamy pistachio and crunchy kadayif pastry filling.

My e-bike battery keys come loose far too easily and I lost one recently.  I asked at our huge hardware store key cutting service and was told they didn't cut these keys.  So I went to a small local locksmith in a tiny store tucked off Harding St, Coburg.  It was so beautifully old school.  The display of locks on the wall was lovely to look at.  The locksmith had three goes before he found a key he could cut to fit my bike.  It is so sad that these niche skills are being replaced by the run of the mill key cutting services in malls and large franchises.  

I turned up late at Back Alley Bakes for bread while on a ride.  There were only two loaves left.  I purchased what I thought was an Il Campo.  As I paid and the loaf was stuffed into a paper bag and I saw that it was an IX Campo and as big as our cat for a a massive $18.  It was excellent bread with a hint of carraway and ended up in many sandwiches and snacks.

I am sharing a photo of my tofu press in action to tell you how much I love it.  The tofu is clamped between two slabs of plastic with the screws to drain out as much liquid as possible.  We use it a lot.  It really makes a difference to how well the tofu absorbs the flavours we add.

Sylvia had found a recipe for One Pan Chili-Lime Coconut Tofu on tik-tok.  It was a fairly simple sauce of chili-garlic paste, coconut milk and lime.  It was very nice but we didn't have enough sauce - I think I would add some water or stock to the pan next time.  We had some kale in with the tofu and served it with brussel sprouts.

 

It was so good to come home from work to this fantastic pumpkin miso pasta with crispy tofu bacon and steamed brussel sprouts.  This was inspired by a tik tok but Sylvia could not find the actual recipe so she improvised.  The pumpkin, garlic and spring onions were roasted and then blended with miso and pasta water were blended to make a tasty sauce for the pasta.

Last month we really enjoyed a Pesto Soup with Gnocchi, Beans and Greens.  We made it again!  It is really good.  This is a photo from the following day when it had thickened. I made a few changes - used parsley instead of basil, chickpeas instead of cannelini beans, and dinosaur kale instead of chard.  I love a recipe even more when it responds well to substitutions.  

There has been a lot of crafting in our kitchen recently.  The kitchen table has been stacked with second hand books Sylvia has been using for collages an we both did a course in Making an enchanted miniature bookshelf.  We spent some time finishing our bookshelves at home on the kitchen table.  You can read more about our bookshelves at my post on the miniature bookshelves.

In  my kitchen is a new airfryer.  This is a piece of kitchen wizardry that I have avoided for a long time.  It seemed too expensive, too unnecessary, too much bench space.  Recently I saw a nice small 4 litre Russell Hobbs Satisfry airfryer for a bargain $50 which was a third of the usual price.  It fits nicely between the microwave and the fridge.  So I took the chance to try it out.  

My mum tells me to treat it like an oven that perhaps bakes a bit hotter than my gas oven.  I find it pretty intuitive.  It stops halfway through the cooking to remind me to shake the tray.  I am trying to remember to wipe it down after cooking.  Reviewers say that the non stick can start to bubble and peel so I am wary of that.  When I checked for the air fryer online, this model is not on the Russell Hobbs site so I gather they are not making it any more.  It is not very big but I like that it takes less energy (apparently) and might be better than turning on a hot oven in summer.

We have had fun experimenting with the air fryer.  It has been a game-changer in reheating pizza.  (We usually do that in the microwave.)  Done in a few minutes and crispy.  It even revived 5 day old pizza from dry to delicious.  I roasted some 2cm slices of zucchini (sprayed with oil and turned over half way through (15 minutes at 190 C).  These were excellent in sandwiches with peanut butter or just eaten as snacks.  I made a lunch of melted brie on toast in the air fryer (4 minutes at 200 C) and then impressed Sylvia by crisping up a Fry's schnitzel from the freezer (10 minutes at 200 C).  I am still getting used to temperature and timing but it is getting easier.

We were happy to find packets of Pickers on special in the freezer section of the supermarket.  We bought a box each of Cheesy bites with camembert, Tomato mozzarella risotto melters (aka suppli), and Herb and parmesan cauliflower bites.  Even better was finding that they are great to heat in the air fryer.  It heats frozen food quicker than the gas oven and makes it so crisp.

Finally here is a lovely "bouquet" from Sandy Hill Banksia's Native Flowers at the Coburg Farmers Market. It is silver gum nuts.  I was told I could keep them in water a few weeks and then let them dry out.  Sylvia does not like it when I put them on the kitchen table (when it is not covered with dishes and crating) and they drop their seeds.  that doesn't matter to me.  They are just gorgeous.

I am sending this post to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings for the In My Kitchen event. If you would like to join in, send your post's url to Sherry by 13th of the month.  Or just head over to her blog to visit more kitchens and her gorgeous hand drawn header.  Thanks to Sherry for continuing to host this even that brings together some wonderful bloggers who share glimpses into their kitchens.